Carbonyl compounds, a, P-unsaturated

Camphor- 10-sulfonic acid, 62 Unsaturated acetals or ketals Nickel boride, 197 (2R,4R)-Pentanediol, 237 Acetylenic carbonyl compounds a,p-Unsaturated acetylenic carbonyl compounds... 

In the benzoin condensation, one molecule of aldehyde serves as an electrophile. If a carbanion is generated from protected cyanohydrins, a-aminonitriles or dithioacetals, it can react with electrophiles such as alkyl halides, strongly activated aryl halides or alkyl tosylates to form ketones. Amongst other electrophiles which are attacked by the above carbanions are heterocyclic A -oxides, carbonyl compounds, a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, a,3-unsaturated nitriles, acyl halides, Mannich bases, epoxides and chlorotiimethyl derivatives of silicon, germanium and tin. 

Molecules that have a C=C unit and a C=0 unit in a molecule but are not conjugated are common, but they are not the focus of this chapter. The C=C and C=0 units are connected directly in conjugated carbonyl compounds. Such carbonyl compounds are often known as a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (a,P-unsaturated ketones, a,P-unsaturated aldehydes, a,P-unsaturated esters, etc.). Typical examples include 3-buten-2-one (the common name is methyl vinyl ketone, 10) and 2-propenal (the common name is acrolein, 11). In these molecules, the presence of the carbonyl will influence reactions at the C=C... 

The two compounds on the right side of Model 2 are examples of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compoimds). Explain this name. 

Catalytic hydrogenation of a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. ot,P Unsaturated aldehydes and ketones are reduced to the corresponding saturated carbonyl compounds with high selectivity under conditions of the 0x0 reaction [H2,CO,Coj(CO)s, 1,225-226]. ... 

The rearrangement can be catalytically brought about with silver and copper salts ° or more recently with Pd compounds. a,p-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds are also often formed under rearrangement on oxidation of allylic alcohols, especially when they are tertiary. This process can serve to perform a 1,3-transposition of carbonyl groups in a,3-unsaturated ketones (Scheme 9). ... 

So far in this section we have combined enolate anions with other carbonyl compounds by direct attack at the carbonyl group. We can expand the scope of this reaction by using a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds as the electrophiles. This is the Michael reaction. Remind yourself of tliis by writing out the mechanism of a Michael reaction such as ... 

The Michael reaction plays a part in some more extended synthetic sequences of great importance. Analyse TM 116 as an a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compound and continue your analysis by the Michael reaction. 

Analysis Another lactone FGl reveals the true TM (A). Our normal discormection a of an a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compound gives us the 1,5-dicarbonyl compound (B) and the ketone (C) clearly derived from phenol. Alternatively we could disconnect bond b to the keto-ester (D) with the further discormection shown ... 

Aldol condensation offers an effective route to a p unsaturated aldehydes and ketones These compounds have some interesting properties that result from conjugation of the carbon-carbon double bond with the carbonyl group As shown m Figure 18 6 the rr systems of the carbon-carbon and carbon-oxygen double bonds overlap to form an extended rr system that permits increased electron delocalization... 

The carbonyl group withdraws rr electron density from the double bond and both the carbonyl carbon and the p carbon are positively polarized Their greater degree of charge separation makes the dipole moments of a p unsaturated carbonyl compounds signifi cantly larger than those of comparable aldehydes and ketones... 

The diminished rr electron density m the double bond makes a p unsaturated aide hydes and ketones less reactive than alkenes toward electrophilic addition Electrophilic reagents—bromine and peroxy acids for example—react more slowly with the carbon-carbon double bond of a p unsaturated carbonyl compounds than with simple alkenes... 

Ordinarily nucleophilic addition to the carbon-carbon double bond of an alkene is very rare It occurs with a p unsaturated carbonyl compounds because the carbanion that results IS an enolate which is more stable than a simple alkyl anion... 

CONJUGATE ADDITION OF ORGANOCOPPER REAGENTS TO a,p-UNSATURATED CARBONYL COMPOUNDS... 

Stabilized anions exhibit a pronounced tendency to undergo conjugate addition to a p unsaturated carbonyl compounds This reaction called the Michael reaction has been described for anions derived from p diketones m Section 18 13 The enolates of ethyl acetoacetate and diethyl malonate also undergo Michael addition to the p carbon atom of a p unsaturated aldehydes ketones and esters For example... 

Ethyl acetoacetate behaves similarly to diethyl malonate in its reactivity toward a p unsaturated carbonyl compounds Give the structure of the product of the following reaction sequence... 

Vinyl ethers and a,P unsaturated carbonyl compounds cyclize in a hetero-Diels-Alder reaction when heated together in an autoclave with small amounts of hydroquinone added to inhibit polymerisation. Acrolein gives 3,4-dihydro-2-methoxy-2JT-pyran (234,235), which can easily be hydrolysed to glutaraldehyde (236) or hydrogenated to 1,5-pentanediol (237). With 2-meth5lene-l,3-dicarbonyl compounds the reaction is nearly quantitative (238). 

A particularly useful reaction has been the selective 1,2-reduction of a, P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to aHyUc alcohols, accompHshed by NaBH ia the presence of lanthanide haUdes, especially cerium chloride. Initially appHed to ketones (33), it has been broadened to aldehydes (34) and acid chlorides (35). NaBH by itself gives mixtures of the saturated and unsaturated alcohols. 

AldolRea.ctlons, In the same way, hydroxybenzaldehydes react readily with aldehydes and ketones to form a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in the Claisen-Schmidt or crossed-aldol condensation (60). 

Mesityl Oxide. Mesityl oxide (MSO) (4-metliyl-3-penten-2-one) is an oily colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. It exhibits the versatiUty and unusual reactivity associated with conjugated a,P unsaturated carbonyl compounds (172). On standing ia air, mesityl oxide slowly forms bis(3,5,5-trimethyl-l,2-dioxolanyl)-3-peroxide (173). 

The highly ionic thaHic nitrate, which is soluble in alcohols, ethers, and carboxyhc acids, is also a very useful synthetic reagent. Oxidation of olefins, a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, P-carbonyl sulfides, and a-nitrato ketones can aH be conveniently carried out in good yields (31,34—36). 

A significant advance in the synthesis of monoorganotin trihaHdes was the preparation of P-substituted ethyl tin trihaHdes in good yield from the reaction of stannous chloride, hydrogen haHdes, and a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, eg, acryHc esters, in common solvents at room temperature and atmospheric pressure (153,154). The reaction is beHeved to proceed through a solvated trichlorostannane intermediate (155) ... 

Subsbtuting vinylic hydrogen in a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with vinylic fluonne does not affect their dienophilic character negatively Indeed, 3,3-difluoroacrylic acid is more reactive toward furan than its nonfluonnated counterpart [95] (equation 81) Consistent with this observation is the fact that tctrafluorobenzoquinone forms only a bis-Diels-Alder adduct m 68% yield in its reaction with cyclopentadiene at room temperature [96, 97 ... 

On the other hand, the polarization of electron density in a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds makes their p-carbon atoms rather electrophilic. Some chemical consequences of this enhanced electrophilicity are described in the following section. 

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